Reach went from best to worst on my list after playing it again recently.

Game is in dire need of a remaster tho. The ghosting and motion blur is just nasty.

It was fun to return to in a LAN setting recently. Any game is fun to some degree when you've got everyone together in the room. But yeah, visually it's got some pretty glaring weaknesses, and compared to the movement and feel of gameplay of Halos before and after it it feels like a novel aberration. It's still a good game (I don't think there's a bad Halo game) but its mechanics just don't excite me to replay it.

Basically the only reason I think there is a point to looking back on it with fondness is to appreciate that Bungie did an excellent job with giving players a host of features out of the box that we're still waiting on to come back, and that it was wrapped up in a fairly good UX.

The Flood follow a Gravemind, and THE Gravemind was destroyed, so that "strain" of Flood are destroyed. There could be pockets of other Flood under another Gravemind, or even a Keymind, which is really fucking bad news.

Ah okay. Thanks for the details.

Still would like some type of alien/pandorum horror type of live movie for halo with their flood.

I appreciate a lot of the designs in it as it was the right compromise of detail without going into overdesigned territory. But as I think Halo 5 shows with a lot of the classic armor designs, it looks better in a different game.

There's still some remaining issues within the games themselves, but as far as I know the biggest remaining issues that can crop up are you can still get your party broken up after games, and sometimes you have to restart your game to rejoin a group.

There's still some remaining issues within the games themselves, but as far as I know the biggest remaining issues that can crop up are you can still get your party broken up after games, and sometimes you have to restart your game to rejoin a group.

ah to be fair, reason not experienced that is because I have no friends and I play on my ones.

There's still some remaining issues within the games themselves, but as far as I know the biggest remaining issues that can crop up are you can still get your party broken up after games, and sometimes you have to restart your game to rejoin a group.

Games can end randomly, and if your search doesn't return players after 90 seconds or so, it never will.

The Flood follow a Gravemind, and THE Gravemind was destroyed, so that "strain" of Flood are destroyed. There could be pockets of other Flood under another Gravemind, or even a Keymind, which is really fucking bad news.

This kinda half right, iirc.

The Flood don't really follow a Gravemind; when you get enough of them together in one place, a Gravemind forms. It acts as a larger strategic thinker, mostly, rather than anything we'd recognize as a "leader." If the Flood we fought in 1-3 managed to hang around somehow and consume enough mass, they'd spawn another one, though I don't know if it'd have the memories/personality of the last one. A Keymind is another order of monster altogether. Not only is it way, way smarter than a Gravemind, it has access to Precursor neural physics shenanigans. There's probably not any of those running around anymore because if there were basically everybody would be dead.

Anyway, neither Graveminds nor Keyminds are unique. They crop up when you have enough Flood. Arguably scarier that way.

The Flood don't really follow a Gravemind; when you get enough of them together in one place, a Gravemind forms. It acts as a larger strategic thinker, mostly, rather than anything we'd recognize as a "leader." If the Flood we fought in 1-3 managed to hang around somehow and consume enough mass, they'd spawn another one, though I don't know if it'd have the memories/personality of the last one. A Keymind is another order of monster altogether. Not only is it way, way smarter than a Gravemind, it has access to Precursor neural physics shenanigans. There's probably not any of those running around anymore because if there were basically everybody would be dead.

Anyway, neither Graveminds nor Keyminds are unique. They crop up when you have enough Flood. Arguably scarier that way.

I'm confused. In Halo CE Cortana says the flood were gathering corpses to create a gravemind. They were making one and that's where you find Keyes's corpse.

Wouldn't that mean the flood are predisposed by some instinctual nature to form a gravemind?

I'm confused. In Halo CE Cortana says the flood were gathering corpses to create a gravemind. They were making one and that's where you find Keyes's corpse.

Wouldn't that mean the flood are predisposed by some instinctual nature to form a gravemind?

Basically what I said, or meant to say. The Flood are naturally inclined to swarm up/congregate in one place. If there's not already a local Gravemind, they work to form one. Calling the Gravemind the leader is what I was taking some issue with.

The Flood don't really follow a Gravemind; when you get enough of them together in one place, a Gravemind forms. It acts as a larger strategic thinker, mostly, rather than anything we'd recognize as a "leader." If the Flood we fought in 1-3 managed to hang around somehow and consume enough mass, they'd spawn another one, though I don't know if it'd have the memories/personality of the last one. A Keymind is another order of monster altogether. Not only is it way, way smarter than a Gravemind, it has access to Precursor neural physics shenanigans. There's probably not any of those running around anymore because if there were basically everybody would be dead.

Anyway, neither Graveminds nor Keyminds are unique. They crop up when you have enough Flood. Arguably scarier that way.

Its a while since I read it, but I got the impression from the forerunner trilogy, that not only do the Flood form a gravemind/keymind instinctively with enough mass (Keyminds been planet size etc) but they graveminds have the same intellect/personality through some handwaved flood version of the domain style shenanigans. I get that flood absorb knowledge of everyone, bit I got the impression theres an aspect of race/genetic memory too.

Its a while since I read it, but I got the impression from the forerunner trilogy, that not only do the Flood form a gravemind/keymind instinctively with enough mass (Keyminds been planet size etc) but they graveminds have the same intellect/personality through some handwaved flood version of the domain style shenanigans. I get that flood absorb knowledge of everyone, bit I got the impression theres an aspect of race/genetic memory too.

I might be way off base with that one though...

Nope. They remember.

My pet theory is that the Flood consciousness is housed in slipspace, given that it ties into how Halsey thought an AI could exist indefinitely and how slipspace started acting wonky at the end of the Forerunner-Flood War.

Basically what I said, or meant to say. The Flood are naturally inclined to swarm up/congregate in one place. If there's not already a local Gravemind, they work to form one. Calling the Gravemind the leader is what I was taking some issue with.

I gotcha. I guess it's just semantics at that point, cuz through their actions they are designating a Gravemind as their natural hierarchical head.

Granted, I never read the books or extensive lore in great detail, so you and others probably have a more nuanced understanding of it.

Its a while since I read it, but I got the impression from the forerunner trilogy, that not only do the Flood form a gravemind/keymind instinctively with enough mass (Keyminds been planet size etc) but they graveminds have the same intellect/personality through some handwaved flood version of the domain style shenanigans. I get that flood absorb knowledge of everyone, bit I got the impression theres an aspect of race/genetic memory too.

I might be way off base with that one though...

Flood are descendants of the precursors, so if they are using the domain to align their personalities I wouldn't be surprised.

I thought a Gravemind is the embodiment of the Flood. The more Flood there are, the smarter they are, and at dumber state they instinctively gather more biomass.
I assume "proto-graveminds" are basically biological computer nodes. Having static systems dedicated for additional thinking gives flexibility in using combat forms (like, they can be consciously sacrificed without it having large impact on the capacity to think). A bit like the geth from Mass Effect.

Also, i thought Graveminds don't have personalities per se. Rather there is one personality that can rise again and again. Having multiple Gravemind-level "nodes" just provides massive thinking capacity and redundant system.

I wonder if Precursors were sort of telepathically linked race. Given that the Flood are basically sort of transcended, twisted form of Precursors, i'd imagine they were. Don't recall what the Forerunner Trilogy said about them. And so the Gravemind is basically also embodiment of the Precursors, their collective personality, though twisted.

I thought a Gravemind is the embodiment of the Flood. The more Flood there are, the smarter they are, and at dumber state they instinctively gather more biomass.
I assume "proto-graveminds" are basically biological computer nodes. Having static systems dedicated for additional thinking gives flexibility in using combat forms (like, they can be consciously sacrificed without it having large impact on the capacity to think). A bit like the geth from Mass Effect.

Also, i thought Graveminds don't have personalities per se. Rather there is one personality that can rise again and again. Having multiple Gravemind-level "nodes" just provides massive thinking capacity and redundant system.

I wonder if Precursors were sort of telepathically linked race. Given that the Flood are basically sort of transcended, twisted form of Precursors, i'd imagine they were. Don't recall what the Forerunner Trilogy said about them. And so the Gravemind is basically also embodiment of the Precursors, their collective personality, though twisted.

Geth work like that, but I don't think the Flood really get smarter in a linear sense- a swarm of Spores isn't really any smarter than a single one wandering around. Rather, they get smarter in leaps and bounds. Graveminds represent a massive increase in what I guess you could call the Flood's "computing power," though for reasons I'll address in a moment that's probably too sterile a term to give it.

As for personality, the examples that we've had a lot of face-to-face time with certainly seem to have them. The H2/3 one is certainly more talky than how I'd imagine a being without a personality to be. And the Flood as a whole aren't emotionless, they're actively malevolent; they're not the Tyranids or the Zerg (pre-Kerrigan, at least). So it'd be in keeping, thematically, to make the Graveminds at least a little bit distinct from each other.

Precursors were not, as far as we know, telepathic in their own right, but they'd more or less surpassed the bounds of physics as we know it so they might as well have been. Could be a holdover from that.

I'd assume the Flood telepathy is actually done via the Domain. And i'd assume the Precursors used it for communication purposes as well. Effectively, telepathy.

Oh, and i'd also assume Cortana moments in Halo 3 are the result of Cortana piggybacking into the Flood-Domain link and sending a message to the Chief. And i'd assume the Chief is capable of being a Domain data-receiver via dome geas planted by the Librarian or something like that.

(Zerg were malevolent even pre-Kerrigan, if one ignores shit Blizzard introduced in Starcraft 2. They did try to conquer and subjugate the entire universe in quest to perfection. Of course, from their point of view, it is just the way they are and not inherently evil, but i'm not a fan of moral relativism and i'll just call them evil and malevolent.)

I'd assume the Flood telepathy is actually done via the Domain. And i'd assume the Precursors used it for communication purposes as well. Effectively, telepathy.

Oh, and i'd also assume Cortana moments in Halo 3 are the result of Cortana piggybacking into the Flood-Domain link and sending a message to the Chief. And i'd assume the Chief is capable of being a Domain data-receiver via dome geas planted by the Librarian or something like that.

(Zerg were malevolent even pre-Kerrigan, if one ignores shit Blizzard introduced in Starcraft 2. They did try to conquer and subjugate the entire universe in quest to perfection. Of course, from their point of view, it is just the way they are and not inherently evil, but i'm not a fan of moral relativism and i'll just call them evil and malevolent.)

Evil and malevolent are relative though, lol.

Anyway, what sets the Flood apart is that they're not even the heroes in their own story. They're explicitly cruel and vicious, unlike most other threats of their type which are more "unthinkingly hungry" than anything else, or obsessed with an "all are one" thing like the Zerg. The Flood are retribution, not only on the Forerunners but on everyone else. "If I can't have it nobody can" on galactic scale.

Flood telepathy is definitely Domain linked, I just wonder if that's really the thing to call it, since telepathy is generally something that's individually linked and radiates outward whereas the domain is everywhere and artificial. Idk.

I'd assume the Flood telepathy is actually done via the Domain. And i'd assume the Precursors used it for communication purposes as well. Effectively, telepathy.

Oh, and i'd also assume Cortana moments in Halo 3 are the result of Cortana piggybacking into the Flood-Domain link and sending a message to the Chief. And i'd assume the Chief is capable of being a Domain data-receiver via dome geas planted by the Librarian or something like that.

(Zerg were malevolent even pre-Kerrigan, if one ignores shit Blizzard introduced in Starcraft 2. They did try to conquer and subjugate the entire universe in quest to perfection. Of course, from their point of view, it is just the way they are and not inherently evil, but i'm not a fan of moral relativism and i'll just call them evil and malevolent.)

In some ways the pre-SC2 Zerg were kind of like the pre-Forwrunner trilogy flood. They had a driving intelligence but mostly operated in an instinctual, animal level. Then we learn that the Flood are basically a giant middle finger from the Precursors to the Forerunners.

In the Halo Reach Beta there was texture files with names like Fred and Linda. I always wondered what they where.

I assumed for some time it was early WIP names for Noble Team Spartans but Reach had a fairly odd development history with 2 of Noble team being cut at what seems like a fairly late stage, Rosenda-A344 who was an alternative Noble 4 and Thom-A293 the Noble Six that died in promo material. I wonder if Blue Team where intended to be on reach to some extent, possibly playable. Linda was on the PoA with John. I believe Lore says that Fred and Kelly where still on reach.

I got the Ensign Edition Start pack for Christmas, as I was looking for something I can do to relax on an evening that doesn't involve electronics.

I imagine I'll never play the game "properly" but I've really enjoyed making the models and painting them and coming up with a simpler game my kids can play with them.

The starter pack linked above was surprisingly good value for money and I later got the SoF style one in a pack with its twin and a few smaller ships.

I've never done ANYTHING like these before, and I'm not very steady handed, but I've been pleased with how they came out, apologies for the potato pic.

I've seen some fantastically painted ships, but I'm happy with what I managed. I'd recommend these to anyone so inclined to build models.

Please, would love to see them.

I also have crazy unsteady hands, and in my experience the number 1 tip is to dilute, dilute, dilute. Really thin paint is incredibly forgiving, and if you don't like the color you can always just add another layer. If you're using thicker paint, mistakes are a lot more obvious, and getting a smooth coat is a real pain.

I got the Ensign Edition Start pack for Christmas, as I was looking for something I can do to relax on an evening that doesn't involve electronics.

I imagine I'll never play the game "properly" but I've really enjoyed making the models and painting them and coming up with a simpler game my kids can play with them.

The starter pack linked above was surprisingly good value for money and I later got the SoF style one in a pack with its twin and a few smaller ships.

I've never done ANYTHING like these before, and I'm not very steady handed, but I've been pleased with how they came out, apologies for the potato pic.

I've seen some fantastically painted ships, but I'm happy with what I managed. I'd recommend these to anyone so inclined to build models.

Please, would love to see them.

Originally Posted by Poodlestrike

I also have crazy unsteady hands, and in my experience the number 1 tip is to dilute, dilute, dilute. Really thin paint is incredibly forgiving, and if you don't like the color you can always just add another layer. If you're using thicker paint, mistakes are a lot more obvious, and getting a smooth coat is a real pain.

Yeah I have never did anything like this before until last year so it was definitely a learning process. I'm more happy with how my covie ships turned out than the UNSC.

Who knows what their plan is for campaign after the backlash Halo 5 received. I'd like them to either have a more radical departure like ODST with a hub world, or go back to levels like Assault on the Control Room and Silent Cartographer. I hope they don't stay the course with 4/5 styled levels as their general linearity and corridor level design are bad.